What You Should Know Before Renting an Office Space

As with many big decisions for your business, choosing an office space can change the future in both a positive and negative way depending on the space you go with. Choose the wrong location and your business could sputter out as you lose existing clients and employees who don’t want to make the drive. Choose the right location and your business can thrive as new clients see your business and new employees line up to work for you. Before you ever decide to open the real estate section of the paper or look at listings online, you need to know a few things.

It’s very easy to get distracted by the beautiful view or furnished decor and forget about the future growth of your business. From the start, you need to decide what your sights are set on in the form of growth. Choosing an office space requires you to sign a contract that will lock you into that location for a specified number of months or years. Is that location going to fit your business two years down the road? Some retail locations offer multiple offices and floors that can allow you to expand as your company does. This may be a better option for you depending on what your future business goals are.

The potential area where you’re going to start looking for an office space is key. You should start by creating a radius around where your clients are from so you can ensure your new office space is within a reasonable traveling distance. If all of your clients are in the city, you don’t want to rent an office space that is two hours outside of the city. Although you may have some loyal clients, most will not likely make the drive out to you and will find another firm that is closer to replace you. Commercial real estate companies San Francisco can help you to find a location that fits within this radius.

In addition to clients, you should consider travel time of your key employees. While it’s most likely impossible to please everyone on your staff, you can do your best to retain your key players. It’s a good idea to talk to your key staff members when initially thinking about a location so that you can get their input. Employees that are going to be dealing with a long commute from a new office location are going to be able to better plan ahead of time when you tell them about it before making major decisions. You may be able to work out different schedules or work-from-home options on certain days of the week if necessary. Just keep your key players involved in the decision so they stick with you after the move happens.

Renting out a new office space can be an exciting experience for any business owner. It gives your employees and you a fresh start to make major things happen. However, before you run out of the gate looking for spaces, you need to start with the list of decisions above, so you have the right criteria to make a good decision later.